It is an alternate version of a song that appears on their secondary debut album, Club Classics Vol.

Its music video, directed by Monty Whitebloom & Andy Delaney, of Big TV!, sees the group performing in a forest.

I nearly died and literally came back to life and I was mad, because where I had gone in between that was so wonderful... but I basically didn't pass over at that point...

In a 2012 interview with British newspaper The Guardian on how "Back to Life" was made, producer Jazzie B said: Everything about this single was magic.

In the United Kingdom it performed even better, reaching number-one in the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in June and July 1989.

Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times wrote, "Another classy and imaginative dance-floor soundscape from the London team that gave us "Keep On Movin'".

"[10] Another Los Angeles Times editor, Duff Marlowe, remarked that the "gorgeously arranged", a cappella "Back to Life", "shows that the sound-system concept not only works, but also may be an effective way of presenting a wide range of talent.

"[11] Jerry Smith from Music Week praised it as another "totally mesmerising killer track" from the "dance floor stylists", adding, "Hard beats and Caron Wheeler's silky vocals will ensure heavy chart action once more.

One, "While “Keep on Movin'” lit the fuse for the group’s ascendance across radio and the sales charts, another Wheeler blessed composition kept the flame burning bright.

Originally—and in retrospect, somewhat incredulously—included on the album in stripped-down, acapella form, “Back to Life” further illuminated Wheeler’s vocal prowess as she sang about seeking romantic clarity, with the drums borrowed from Graham Central Station's "The Jam" kicking in at the 2:40 mark.

In short order following the album’s release, the song was reworked into a more robust midtempo groove, its instant earworm appeal and unforgettable hook (“How ever do you want me, how / How ever do you need me”) all but ensuring its ubiquity throughout the summer of 1989.

[16] In 2015, Eric Harvey from Pitchfork wrote, "The mainstream got a taste of house music that was stately and groovy, not dripping with acid, and which sounded fantastic amid clubbish contemporaries like Black Box’s "Ride on Time", Technotronic’s "Pump Up the Jam", Janet Jackson’s "Miss You Much", and Lisa Stansfield’s "All Around the World".

"[4] The accompanying music video for "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" was directed by Monty Whitebloom and Andy Delaney, of Big TV!

[17] Wheeler performed "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" on various televised appearances, including the Arsenio Hall Show,[18] Rockopop, and Later... with Jools Holland.

[21] It also features in the opening scene of the first episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, where Will Smith is seen drumming the song on the door of his new home.